Bible Dictionary

Talmud

The word is from a Hebrew term meaning “learning.” The Talmud is a compilation of Jewish writing and tradition, literature rather than a single book, and consists of the Mishnah, or text, and the Gemara, or commentaries. The commentaries, which comprise both Halakah and Haggada, deal with almost every aspect of Jewish religious life, such as prayer, agriculture, marriage, and rules for the scribes in making copies of the sacred books. It dates from about A.D. 200 but reflects the thinking also of earlier times and is a fruitful source for many aspects of Jewish culture and belief.